Red vs Yugi
by ColdCupoJoe
Summary: Well this took way longer to write and ended up much longer than I expected, but here it is! Long story short (pun intended), this is the main character from the first series of Pokemon, Red, from around the time of Ultra Sun and Moon, dueling against Yugi Muto (as well as Yami Yugi) from the anime. Hopefully I did both characters justice in merging worlds and I hope y'all enjoy!
1. The Setup

Though the snow whipped around him, Red didn't feel the cold as he looked into the chasm below. It had been years since his victory over the Elite Four, after his battle with the Johto Champion, and after everything he stood alone on Silver Mountain.

The wind blew around the Pokémon Champion, almost blowing his hat off, but Red stood staring into the abyss of the cliff's edge. There was nothing more to accomplish. He had fulfilled his promise to Professor Oak to complete the PokeDex and proved time and time again that he was the indisputable champion across every known region. There had to be one more thing to prove…

"Red?" a voice called out from behind the trainer. Red turned to see a suited man wearing sunglasses, a truly odd sight for this mountaintop. The man braced himself against the wind and snow with his briefcase and in his other hand he held a manila envelope, flapping mercilessly in the gale.

"Champion Red?" the man called out again, staring at the trainer. Red nodded wordlessly, his fingertips brushing one of the Pokeballs on his belt, ready for a battle. The man, however, only trudged forward through the snow, his hand with the envelope outstretched.

"You are a very difficult man to find, Red," the man said, keeping his hand outstretched, insisting on the champion take the envelope.

"…" Red slowly reached for the delivery, hand still cautiously hovering over his belt, and grabbed the envelope from the man. The man quickly shoved his hand back into his pocket, shivering from the cold.

"The S.S. Anne is leaving for New Duel Kingdom in the morning. The Duel King Champion would be very disappointed if you didn't make it." And with that, the man turned to sink back into the cave, leaving Red alone on his mountain once more.

 _Duel King Champion?_ Red thought to himself, eyeing the envelope. He ripped open the manila envelope, and out slid a single piece of paper, and advertisement for the New Duel Kingdom. Red quickly scanned the pamphlet, but the repetition of the phrase "Duel Monsters" perplexed him. In bold black writing at the bottom, however, written over the applicant information, read " **FOR CHAMPION RED ONLY. BRING YOUR POCKET MONSTERS.** "

The last championship Red had been a part of was the founding of the Alolan Battle Tree, but he had heard nothing of this Duel Kingdom. What sort of champion would he be if he was not there to prove his worth though?

Red folded the paper and slid it into his inner vest pocket. The phrase kept echoing in his head, _Duel King Champion_. One more championship. Then maybe he'd be happy enough with himself to retire from it all. Red lowered his hat and entered the cave to the bottom of the mountain to gather his best Pokémon to become champion of one more tournament.

The long trip aboard S.S. Anne had fully taken away Red's land legs, as well as many of the other passengers, but after a full week they had finally made port. The passengers filed out onto a beautiful island. They had made port on a sandy coast that melted into a grassy plain, cut in half by a cobblestone walkway. Over the top of the walkway there hung a flapping blue banner, reading "Welcome to Duelist Kingdom!" in bright yellow text. In the distance, Red could see a large volcano jutting out of the center of the island, and at the base of it stood an impressive medieval-inspired castle.

Red stumbled along the sidewalk, looking around at the fellow challengers. He didn't recognize any of them from his own travels, nor did any of these other challengers seem to have Pokemon at their side. Instead, many of them carried briefcases and what he had heard some of the others call "duel discs," which looked like a combination of arm guards and a surface to lay playing cards on.

And cards seemed exactly what they were meant for. Many of the fellow competitors, young and old, used these duel discs to lay cards upon and fight each other with their cards. A few challengers had asked red to battle and scoffed when they realized he had no card deck. Red couldn't figure out why he was invited to a tournament of card games.

Nonetheless, Red made his way to the large castle at the base of the mountain, leading the slowly advancing crowd of newcomers. Before he made it too far, however, a voice called out from the crowd behind him.

"Aren't you a little old to be a duelist?" a nasally voice pointed at Red, giving him cause to turn. Before Red was a kid stepping out from the crowd. He was a bit on the short side, clad in a dull green coat, with a turqoise mop of a haircut shading his yellow glasses, staring menacingly up at Red.

Red looked down at the child, his mouth not even opening to argue against this kid. He turned around to resume his march towards the castle but the kid snatched Red by the wrist and spun him back around.

"I'm talking to you little mite! Don't you know who I am? I'm Weevil Underwood, the Regional Duel Monsters champion!" the kid shouted, spraying Red with spittle. Red winced, wiped his face with his sleeve and glared at Weevil.

"Now that I have your attention, I believe you owe me a duel! Unless you're too much of a coward!" Weevil reached underneath his coat and whipped out a deck of cards and bore a toothy grin. Red gritted his teeth, staring at the child, before giving him a solemn nod.

"And so the fly lands in the spider's web!" Weevil shouted, the crowd behind him beginning to surround the two combatants to form around them. The ground began to part between Red and Weevil, causing Red to stumble backwards to avoid falling into the forming abyss. From the rectangular hole rose a metallic field with two raised pedestals on each end for duelists. "It's time to duel!"

The crowd dispersed as Red's Charizard burned away at the last of Weevil's bugs, the Great Moth, and consequently the last of his life points. Weevil shook in rage, his eyes bugging out behind his beetle glasses.

"How is this possible?! I was the regional champion!" Weevil crumpled to his knees, flipping through his cards to find any combination that would have won him the duel.

Red turned from the battlefield, returning his Charizard to his Pokeball. He strode confidently toward the castle once more, but internally he could barely believe he squeezed a victory in this game. As his opponent sent out monster after monster, he assumed the crowd didn't know that this bug master whittled him down to his last Pokémon. Luckily his Charizard pulled through, but there was so much to this new game that flew over Red's head. Between the spells, traps, and incredibly tough monsters Red was unsure of what he got himself into on this island, and he had only faced an opponent skilled in bugs!

Red headed to the castle for answers, careful not to approach any other duelists with his one weakened Pokémon.

Two suited men guarded the heavy wooden doors of the castle entrance, similar to the man who approached Red on the mountain.

"You may not enter the castle unless…" one of the suited men declared before raising his sunglasses to look at Red. "Oh, Champion Red! My apologies! Right inside, sir."

The two men stood aside, opening the double doors for Red to enter. Red nodded to the guards and stepped inside.

The entry hall was expansive and gaudy, a hundred feet tall adorned with stained glass and murals. A luxurious glass chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting dancing lights across the tiled floor. Two hallways extended before Red, one in front and one to the left, as far as his eyes could scan. To his right, however, was the typical Pokémon Center interior that he had grown to love. The semicircle counter enclosed a medical machine with pockets for his Pokeballs, as well as a woman in a lab coat with pink bobbed hair tucked under her medical cap.

"Red! My, how have you grown!" the lady, whom Red had learned to call Nurse Joy, called out in her high-pitched voice.

Red smiled politely and nodded, unhooking the Pokeballs from his belt and laying them on the tray set out for him.

"What have you been up to? Staying out of trouble seems out of the question with the work you've brought me today," Joy began moving each of Red's Pokémon from the tray to the healing machine. Red nodded knowingly, shamefully looking at his feet as the machine began to flash and beep, restoring his Pokémon.

"Oh and let me get ahold of your PokeDex as well," Nurse Joy said as the healing machine began to finish. Red complied, reaching into his back pocket and fishing out his PokeDex, handing it to Nurse Joy with a smile.

"I was told to upgrade your PokeDex for tomorrow's big tournament!" Joy plugged Red's dex into her computer and the screen began to scroll with green text overlaid onto a bright blue screen before _ding_ -ing, almost in sync with the healing machine, and she popped the dex's connector cable from the computer and handed it back to Red along with his Pokeballs.

"Your PokeDex now has information on the entirety of the game Duel Monsters!" Nurse Joy smiled. Red's eyes widened, realizing this may just be the edge he needed on this crazy island.

"Champion Red," a stern voice called from behind him. Red turned to see another suited man with a pointed pompadour haircut. "If you'd follow me to your quarters, we have prepared quite the arrangement for you."

Red gave one more nod in thanks to Nurse Joy and followed the suit down one of the infinitely long hallways.

"And there you are," the man said, opening a door to reveal a moderately spacious furnished bedroom. An empty dresser on the right wall, flanked by a closet and a terminal, commonly used for Pokémon transferal. On the opposite wall laid a queen size bed with fluffed laundered sheets. The entire room was bathed in blue and purple light, cast by the stained-glass window on the wall opposite the door.

"Even though you have immunity on this first day," the man said as Red settled into his room, "I'd get some rest, and plan for the greatest duel of your life." The suited man chuckled sinisterly before closing the door behind Red.

Red scoffed at the suited man as the door closed and whipped out his PokeDex, scrolling through the headers to find a new section entitled "Duel Monsters". He flicked into the new menu, seeing subsections of spells, traps, and monsters. A seemingly overwhelming amount of information to take in overnight, but he didn't get to be the Pokémon Champion by winging it. Red selected one of the Pokeballs on his belt and flung it toward the bed.

The red and white sphere split open, exposing a bright white light, forming into a more corporeal form. The light morphed into a small yellow rodent, with a tail spiking out into a lightning bolt. The rodent squeezed its eyes briefly before they popped brightly open with a smile brimming from cheek to red spotted cheek.

" _Pika_!" Pikachu squeaked in joy at seeing its trainer. Red smiled back, nuzzling Pikachu's head. He knew he would need as much motivation as he could get if he was going to win this new tournament. Red sat on his bed next to Pikachu, holding his PokeDex out for Pikachu to also peek in. New strategies, different move sets, and the perfect team would all need preparation. It was going to be a long night.

Red woke to the smell of fresh coffee, his head face down on a notebook on the desk. His blurry vision focused with the coffee aroma, his morning daze slowly fading. He saw his Pikachu working clumsily to pour the coffee carafe into a clean mug, stumbling back and forth and spilling drips onto the counter.

Red brought himself to his feet, gave an approving pat to his small yellow friend and grabbed the coffee pot from him, placing it back onto the burner. He grabbed the mug, sipping it gently, and grabbed his notebook and began pacing around his room, taking intermittent sips. The studying was interrupted, however, by a loud transmission through the intercom system.

"All contestants to the dueling arena," and the transmission ran on repeat, echoing throughout the halls. Red looked towards his Pikachu, who gave him a toothy grin, knowing that Red was as prepared for his next matchup as he was ever going to be. The trainer smiled back and pulled Pikachu's Pokeball from his belt and pointed it at his rodent friend, returning him to his ball. He placed the ball onto the PC terminal and it vanished in a flash of light, transferred back to Professor Oak for safety back at his lab. As much as he appreciated his Pikachu, Red knew he would need a much different powerset for this next challenge.

Red made his way to the great dueling hall, pointed out by a map downloaded onto his PokeDex. Many other tournament-comers were there, many of whom he had seen getting off the boat, although many that he had seen were not present here, presumably knocked out during the preliminary rounds of the tournament. Many of the others chatted with each other, jovially challenging each other and showing off their decks of cards.

Red saw flashes of many cards he had accustomed himself to during his night of study, but still many seemed so foreign to him. He ran over his hypothetical plays and counter-plays as he silently walked through the crowd. Keeping his head down as to not attract any unwanted attention, before he made it to the front of the crowd and the hall opened up to a large arena like Red had seen during his battle against Weevil. On the platform below he saw two duelists finishing their battle, one kid in red and one in blue. The simplicity of it all reminded Red of easier days, battling Blue and filling out the PokeDex, before the weight of the Pokémon Championship was on his shoulders.

Soon the duelist in blue was victorious and both contestants walked backwards off the stage, out of sight. Everyone watching the duel applauded before going back to their revelry. Red searched for a way to the arena below, finding a staircase into darkness and followed the path down. At the bottom of the staircase he found himself in a hallway, one way shrouded in darkness and one way leading to the duel arena. In the hallway toward the arena, however, sat the duelist in red, slouched against the wall and trying to hide a muffled cry. Red walked over to the boy and knelt to meet him face to face, bringing his hand up to wipe away one of the boy's tears.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the boy looked up, in shock that anyone was there to see him cry. "I don't mean to be in your way sir," he said as he rose to his feet and shuffled off. Red brought his hand up to the boy's shoulder, gently turning him around without a word. He held his finger up as Red turned his backpack to his front and rifled through it, producing a faded red hat with a white front and a badge pinned to its corner. Red affixed his old hat on the wild hair of the young boy. The boy smiled in awe, as if he could feel the history imbued into this hat.

"Th-thanks mister!" the boy cheered up, extending his arms and giving Red a warm embrace. A smile cracked across Red's face before the two parted ways and the boy ran up the stairs.

"Next duel incoming should be a real nail-biter folks," the intercom system blared to life, echoing loudly in the dark hallway. Red turned to leave up the stairs to prepare for the next battle until the intercom continued.

"We have the most skilled duelist in the world, Yugi Muto! And his competition, the famed Pokémon Kanto Champion, Red!"

Red's eyes widened. He didn't know he would be called into battle so soon, much less against apparently the world's most skilled duelist. Nonetheless, Red turned toward the arena behind him, his mind racing as he mulled over all the rules constraining his Pokémon and his opponents' monsters.

Red emerged from the darkened hallway to the roar of applause as spotlights all focused on him. He pulled the lip of his hat down to shade his eyes as he walked up the staircase to his podium overlooking the grid-patterned arena.

Across the way stood another child, wearing blue pants and a blue jacket overlaying a black undershirt. From the boy's neck dangled an upside-down pyramid bearing an Egyptian eye mark suspended by a thick metal chain. The boy's hair was a mixture of dark purple outward spikes with blond strands jutting out from the front. Red could only assume this was the Yugi Muto the PA system had announced.

"Hello there! I've heard a lot of good things about you," Yugi said from across the battlefield. "I hope you're a good duelist! I'll warn you, I won't hold back, and this won't be a walk in the park!"

"…" Red stood stoically, trying to read his opponent. As he stared into Yugi's eyes, however, he simply looked like a naïve child, not unlike he once was. He began to flick at the Pokeballs on his belt, considering his first move.

"Well, let's not keep the crowd waiting! Yugioh!" the child shouted to the heavens and Red could tell the boy's eyes now showed true determination, as if the naïve child was gone and replaced with this new combatant.

"Let's duel!" Yugi called out confidently and the crowd erupted in applause.


	2. The Battle

Red pulled a Pokeball from his belt and threw it out onto the field, the sphere cracking open in blinding light to reveal a massive blue turtle with a bronzed brown shell, adorned with two cannons on its back.

"Red begins the duel with a water powered Blastoise!" the announcer called out for the duelists unfamiliar with Red's monsters. "Will that be the end of his turn?"

Red nodded in confirmation, passing his turn on with his sturdy Blastoise on the field.

"My turn then!" Yugi called out, reaching drawing five cards to begin the duel. "Now I draw a card," he called above the roar of the crowd before reaching for another card. He peeled the top card from his deck and added it to his hand. Red studied Yugi from across the field as his eyes scanned across his hand of six.

"Now, I lay a card face down in defense position, as well as a spell card face down as well, and that will end my turn!" Yugi called out confidently, folding his hand close to his vest with a smirk. Two large holograms of face down cards appeared on the gridded patterns on the field, one in front of the other.

"Bold move to play defensive on his first turn!" the announcer played over the PA systems. "Will his defenses be enough to hold out against Red's relentless attacks?"

"Your move, monster trainer!" Yugi called out confidently.

Red scoffed. _'They're not just monsters,'_ he thought, eyes focusing on his Blastoise. His giant tortoise looked at him through the corner of its eye. Red nodded and Blastoise responded in kind, lowering its twin cannons and letting loose a torrent of swirling water towards the face down monster on Yugi's side of the field.

"It looks like Red's Blastoise used hydro-pump! That'll hit like a truck!"

The dual blasts of water smashed into the facedown card, and in doing so it turned face-up and formed a large humanoid figure with spiked hair holding a shield just as massive as it was.

"You've discovered my most powerful defense monster, Big Shield Gardna!" Yugi called out, the crowd cheering as the rushing water smashed into the shield, spraying the close onlookers with a mist.

"You'll have to find another way to get past my defenses!" Yugi almost chuckled, before looking down at his laid monster. His Big Shield Gardna had began at 2600 DEF points, but as the water tore away at the shield Gardna's defense dropped to 1200. "How is this possible?!" Yugi stammered, shocked.

"And that's the power of Red's team!" the announcer answered, overhead lights spinning and focusing onto Red's Blastoise. "Pokémon have the distinct trait of whittling down their opponents to defeat them, making Duel Monsters cards' defense a drainable resource! Aren't these duels exciting?!"

The crowd erupted in cheer and excitement as they became more evenly split, half rooting for the King of Games and half cheering for the Pokemon Champion. Red smiled. It had been a long time since he had battled in front of a crowd, much less one on his side as much as his opponent. He looked up into the crowd and saw the young kid in red bearing Red's old hat, grinning ear to ear and giving red a rigid thumbs-up.

Red turned back to the field of battle to see his opponent's next move.

"I draw," Yugi stated, throwing away his brief arrogance to purely focus on the duel.

"I play Beaver Warrior on the field in attack position!" Yugi called out as a grid on the field illuminated and from the light rose a man-sized rodent on its hind legs wielding a sword and shield as well as a set of metal armor.

"And that's not all! I equip Beaver Warrior with the Horn of the Unicorn!" With that, a ribbed horn glittered into existence onto the forehead of the Beaver Warrior, sparking with electrical energy. "You're not the only one who read up on the games we play, Red! And I'll have you know Horn of the Unicorn grants my Beaver Warrior the attacking power of electricity, which I do believe your cannon-tortoise is weak to? Now go Beaver Warrior, attack his Blastoise!"

The Beaver squeaked to life, holding its sword aloft. Lightning crackled around the Beaver Warrior's horn before striking his sword from above, igniting the blade with electrical energy. Blastoise ducked its head into its shell just in time to deflect the electrified blade with its shell, although with the time Red had spent with Blastoise he knew his Pokemon was already at half-health from that attack as his breath grew labored. Red eyed the growing amount of cards on his opponent's side, knowing if he didn't turn this battle around he wouldn't have a chance.

Red pointed toward the Big Shield Gardna once more, his Blastoise huffing in a rage. The giant tortoise retracted its cannons into its shell before its limbs and head followed suit. The limbless shell began to rotate very quickly, becoming a blur as it spun before hurdling toward the shielded warrior. The spinning Blastoise made contact with the giant shield of Gardna, reducing Gardna's defense to 1000.

"Blastoise used a rapid spin attack!" the announcer called out.

"Why use such a weak attack when you could have destroyed my Gardna with another hydro pump attack?" Yugi questioned, cautiously reading his diminishing defense points. As he watched, however, Yugi saw his Horn of Unicorn card and his face down card dissolve and get wiped from the field.

"What it this?! Blastoise's rapid spin wiped away my spells and traps?" Yugi watched helplessly as the cards were removed from the field and dumped into the graveyard. Red grinned. He wasn't sure if rapid spin would work, but he trusted in his Blastoise and it came to prove all the difference.

Regardless, Blastoise was still outnumbered.

"I will not allow that to happen again, now I draw," Yugi declared, visibly agitated about his wiped out spell and trap cards. His lip upturned in a grin at his drawn card.

"Now begins your downfall," Yugi chuckled, causing Red to squint in suspicion. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack position! And I send Beta to attack your Blastoise!" As he said this, he slammed his card onto his podium. The gridded field illuminated as a metallic warrior shot forth from the ground whose head bore two curved magnets akin to horns, complete with a sword and shield. The magnet warrior flew toward Red's Blastoise, swinging its blade across the tortoise's carapace. Blastoise winced in pain, staggering backwards but still standing as the magnet warrior returned to its side of the field.

"Impressive defense," Yugi complimented, surveying the field. "But it won't be enough! Beaver Warrior, finish off that overgrown turtle!" The beaver warrior squealed in confirmation, raising its sword high above its head and leaping into the air. Blastoise's eyes widened as he saw the beaver warrior arc toward it, bracing itself at the last moment as the blade slashed across Blastoise's head.

Blastoise fell to its belly, unable to fight on. Red drew Blastoise's Pokeball from his belt and held it forward, returning his fell Pokémon in a flash of red light.

"That defeat dropped Red's life points to 1600!" came the announcement over the loudspeakers. "With no more monsters on the field against his opponent's three, what will trainer Red do now?"

Red glared at the field, the Big Shield Gardna, Beaver Warrior, and Magnet Warrior all bouncing rhythmically in defiance. His opponent seemed to keep his composure, although Red knew it must be difficult to hide such a confidence early lead. He reached for his belt once more and slung one of his Pokeballs onto the field once more.

In a flash of light, another enormous beast emerged from the ball. The creature seemed humanoid enough, although covered in dark blue hair along its back with tan on the front of its torso and face. Its massive belly was its most prominent feature, and its eyes seemed to be closed in a nap despite it standing upright.

"Red has called forth his Snorlax!" the announcer excitedly broadcasted. The crowd let out a gasp in awe at the massive creature.

"It is still your move," guided Yugi from across the field. Red nodded and pointed wordlessly at his Snorlax.

On command, Snorlax stomped the ground, shaking the entire castle. Onlookers braced themselves even though they were far from the epicenter of this attack. Red just held onto his hat with one hand and the podium with his other as his Snorlax shook the arena, watching Yugi's monsters take the damage.

First fell the Big Shield Gardna, pixelating into nothingness, followed quickly by the disintegration of the Beaver Warrior, who let out a squeak as it was destroyed. The last monster remained, but only barely as Magnet Warrior stood with 200 defense points.

"A devastating earthquake attack strikes all monsters on the field!" the announcer narrated, fueling the crowd's energy as they erupted in cheer once they recovered from the castle's trembling. Yugi gritted his teeth seeing his life points drain from 2000 to 1400.

"I'll draw once more," Yugi called out, sliding one more card from the top of his deck and fitting it into his hand. "You now must content with my next monster, Feral Imp!"

He slammed one of the cards in his hand in attack position. Out of the light on the field crawled a large green wiry beast with a cat's face and wings adorned with horns. The creature hissed and snarled at Red's Snorlax, who bore its teeth in defiance.

"Now I attack with both Beta the Magnet Warrior and Feral Imp! Focus on that behemoth!" Yugi outstretched his arm, sending his two monsters to attack. Both monsters launched themselves forward, Magnet Warrior with its sword and Feral Imp with its claws, and collided with the oversized Snorlax, but only seemed to bounce off of its body. Snorlax flexed its stomach to send its two opponents recoiling back to Yugi's side of the field.

' _Snorlax's hitpoints is his biggest asset,'_ Red thought, knowing his Pokemon could tank almost any hit these smaller beasts could sling at him. Snorlax stood triumphantly, his health seemingly having been barely chipped away.

"With only one monster left and Red's turn next, will this be the end of Yugi Muto?" the announcer shouted as the crowd panned their vision to see Red's next move. Red looked at the two monsters still on the field opposing his Snorlax and knew one more earthquake would finish the job.

Red pointed once more and Snorlax stomped violently, shaking the field once more.

"Not so fast!" Yugi reached for a card within his hand, flipping it to show his opponent. The card showed a small brown furball, with two large eyes poking out. The only other visible features of this creature were reptilian feet and hands emerging from the hairy mass. "I use the power of Kuriboh, to negate your attack!"

Just as quickly as the earthquake began it was stopped and all of the damage was absorbed into the little furry beast. Yugi dropped the Kuriboh monster into his graveyard stack and drawing a card to begin his turn.

"Now, with the combined power of my two monsters, I can tribute summon my Buster Blader!" Yugi shouted as Feral Imp and Beta the Magnet Warrior faded out of existence and from the void emerged a towering knight in black armor, holding a giant two-handed blade. The monster roared in anger as it stared down its oversized opponent.

"Buster Blader, attack now!" Yugi called out. The giant knight lumbered toward the Snorlax swinging its sword at the Pokémon. Red's eyes widened and lips parted, almost uttering a warning to his Snorlax as it raised its arms in defense. The blade swiped across Snorlax's forearms, throwing the mighty beast to the ground.

Snorlax wasn't down for the count, though. Snorlax struggled to its feet, sweat dripping from its brow. Red knew Yugi's turn was up, but his Snorlax wouldn't last another round with that monster. Red flicked through the Pokeballs on his belt, trying to remember the strategies he had came up with the night prior. He snagged one of the balls from his belt and flung it onto the field near his struggling Snorlax.

A bright red man-sized bipedal insect erupted from the Pokeball, with two pincers on the end of each arm.

"And Red sends out his Scizor!" the announcer shouted in awe.

"You can't simply win with numbers against my Buster Blader, Champion Red!" Yugi called out upon Scizor's summoning. "You see, he boasts an attack force of 2600! And since you can't turn your monsters into defense position, on my next turn I will annihilate your Snorlax beast and with it the last of your life points!"

Red smirked. He wouldn't be defeated so easily.

Red motioned to his Scizor first, who crossed its twin pincers and spun, its pincers glowing with a dim blue light. He then motioned to Snorlax, who, to Yugi's surprise, simply laid down and began to nap.

"What's wrong with your monsters, Red? Did you forget how to attack?" Yugi suppressed a chuckle.

"What a combination!" the announcer's voice enthusiastically broadcasted throughout the dueling arena, giving Yugi cause for concern. "Scizor's swords dance sharply raises Scizor's attack, and Snorlax's rest restored his hitpoints to full! But what's this? Snorlax is already awake?!"

Snorlax had indeed already woke up from his rest by consuming its Chesto Berry. And with that Red had set in motion his plan to defeat this mighty Buster Blader.

"Enough of this!" Yugi exclaimed, drawing one more card. "I will forgo any summons this turn and focus on attacking your obese bear!" Yugi extended his hand forth and clenched his fist, sending his Buster Blader to attack Red's Snorlax. Snorlax looked back to meet eyes with Red, both nodded, and Snorlax braced himself once more against the slash.

The blade connected, dropping Snorlax's hitpoints to just below half, but the big blue behemoth stood valiantly.

"That's one chunky boy!" the announcer called out in response to the standing Snorlax and signaling the beginning of Red's next turn.

Red threw his hand out, having his Scizor use Swords Dance once more, sharply raising its attack once more, and sending his Snorlax to charge. Snorlax's thundering footsteps shook the field as Snorlax launched itself into the air, leading belly-first to slam into the Buster Blader.

Buster Blader staggered as the Snorlax crashed into its helmed head. As the attack connected, sparks of electricity seemed to radiate downwards throughout Yugi's monster, causing it to twitch sporadically.

"Snorlax's body slam has paralyzed Buster Blader!" the announcer called out. "Buster Blader may not be able to attack!"

"No matter!" shouted Yugi, peeling one more card off the top of his deck. He slammed the new card onto the field, drawing out a large white wolf howling onto the field. "I summon Silver Fang!"

"Now, Silver Fang attack the Snorlax!" Yugi called out. The wolf howled out in a charge, leaping forth to clamp its jaws onto Snorlax's arm, greatly damaging Red's Pokémon but not defeating it. After doing damage the Silver Fang retreated back to Yugi's side of the field, turning to snarl at its opponent.

"Even though my Buster Blader is paralyzed, I believe he can overcome the odds, I believe in the heart of my cards!" Yugi called out, motioning to his Buster Blader to attack the weakened Snorlax.

Sparks rippled throughout the body of Buster Blader, surely not helped by the metallic armor worn by the large warrior. Nonetheless, Buster Blader twitchily inched forward little by little until breaking through the paralysis, taking one large step and letting loose a horrific roar. The warrior strode forth, swinging its massive blade at the Snorlax, draining its final hitpoints and quickly draining Red's life points from 1600 to 900.

"That's a devastating blow to Red's life points! And no more Snorlax to boot!"

Red brought out Snorlax's Pokeball and returned it in a flash of red light. He smiled and nodded in appreciation at his Snorlax Pokeball, knowing it bought him enough time to potentially win.

Red attached Snorlax's Pokeball to his belt and removed another, tossing it out onto the field. From the ball emerged a smaller fork-tailed cat, its fur a light purple, with a red gem in the middle of its forehead, splitting its two deep purple glowing eyes.

"Espeon takes the field!" the narrator called out.

Red clenched his fist and Espeon's eyes began to glow a bright white, creating a hard-light wall in front of itself and Scizor. He then waved his hand forward and Scizor snapped its twin pincers. The bright red wings on Scizor's back flicked wide and it flew towards the Buster Blader.

"Your Scizor has no chance against my Buster Blader! Even with its attack boost its attack only equals my Buster Blader!" Yugi shouted, throwing his hand out toward his warrior. Buster Blader struggled to action, still under the effect of the paralysis. Before the warrior could mobilize, the crimson beetle snatched the blade with one of its claws and slammed its other claw into the jaw of the Buster Blader.

"The combination of the latent paralysis and Espeon's reflect gave Scizor the edge it needed!" the announcer explained to the crowd, causing Yugi to flinch at his monster's destruction.

"No! My Buster Blader!" Yugi shouted as his warrior pixelated and was transferred to the graveyard. His life points began to drain, from 1400 to 950, and now he only had his Silver Fang on the field. Yugi clenched his fist but moved his hand to draw another card.

"While the heart of the cards has my back, you don't stand a chance!" Yugi called out, flipping a card from his deck. His eyes widened, and he set the card face down in the field designated for traps. He pulled one more card from his hand and threw it onto the field in face-up attack position.

"I lay one card face down, as well as summon Celtic Guardian in attack position!" Yugi shouted. Glittering into existence rose an elf clad in green armor and a fanciful headdress, wielding a heavy sword. The new warrior stood beside the giant white wolf and in front of the face down spell/trap card visible on the field.

"With no way to rid the field of my trap cards, you'll just have to figure out what this little trick is for you, Champion Red!" Yugi called out. "And now you'll find out why the cat fears the dog! Silver Fang, attack the Espeon!"

Red held up his hand before the Silver Fang could attack, however, as Scizor's claws glowed bright white and he accelerated quickly towards the advancing wolf with its priority move, bullet punch.

"Impressive! Scizor countered with a bullet punch, which has priority over normal attacks!" the narrator called out.

"But wait!" Yugi called back, flipping his trap card face up, revealing the trap card Mirror Force. "In case you are unaware, Mirror force allows me to destroy all opposing attack-position monsters when an opponent declares an attack. And since your Pokémon can only exist in attack position, prepare to say goodbye to your monsters and your life points!"

A solid hard-light shield formed around Yugi's monsters, catching Scizor's hard claw and bouncing it back to Red's size of the field. The shield pulsed with energy, its bright light almost blinding to the two duelists. The energy coalesced into two beams of energy, blasting forth at both of Red's Pokémon.

Red saw the energy beam spear through his Scizor and winced as the metallic bug fell. The second beam shot toward Espeon but as it was about to make contact, a mystical blue light enveloped the cat and reflected the beam of energy away. The reflected beam bounced back and struck Silver Fang, pixelating it into nothingness.

"How did your Espeon escape destruction?" Yugi looked in shock at Red's side of the field, before his vision panned to his own side. "And how did you take out my monster?!"

"What a display of Espeon's ability, magic bounce!" the announcer called out, answering Yugi's surprise. "Magic bounce reflects all non-damaging effects back onto its attacker, a devastating display against Mirror Force!"

Red held his Pokeball outwards, returning his fainted Scizor to his belt. Even knowing about the power difference going into this battle, Red's forehead dripped with sweat from exhaustion. Yugi across the way did not look any better, which Red took as a small victory, but he knew he had a long way through the kid's deck if he was going to emerge victorious.

Red looked up into the crowd once more, taking solace that regardless the of the outcome, he had earned the respect of this audience. The children on the above balcony roared and cheered at the determination of both competitors, bringing a slight grin to the experienced trainer's mouth and a single tear to his eye.

"You have dueled well!" Yugi called out from across the field, his eyes piercing through the shadow cast by Red's hat across his face. Red nodded in recognition, somehow feeling that he was dueling more than just a child, but a worthy combatant nonetheless.

Red saw the one monster out on the field, the Celtic Guardian, and held out his hand for Espeon to attack. The purple cat glanced at the opposing warrior, hesitating as its opponent looked to be humanoid, and glanced back at its trainer. Red acknowledged Espeon's hesitation, as his Pokemon were trained to not attack humans, but he nodded, which was echoed by Espeon's nod as well.

Espeon's eyes glowed a bright white as the Celtic Guardian was surrounded by a light-distorting energy, lifting it into the air. The Celtic Guardian shouted in pain, its defense points dropping from 1200 down to 300, before being dropped to the ground once more, kneeling and using its sword as a crutch.

Yugi gritted his teeth as his trusty Celtic Guardian took damage, but reached for another card in his deck. He folded the new card into his hand and pulled a separate one and held it aloft.

"My Celtic Guardian has endured valiantly, lasting long enough for me to tribute summon him to allow me to summon Dark Magician Girl, in attack position!" Yugi shouted as he slammed his card onto the podium in front of him. The Celtic Guardian on the field sank into the ground in a flash of light, and another humanoid card monster emerged in turn. A young woman with long blonde hair and glowing green eyes peeked from out of the light. The top of her head was covered by an elongated blue pointed hat adorned with purple bands, and her body was covered by little more than a corset and skirt both matching the hat.

"While she is not as powerful as my Buster Blader, Dark Magician Girl has more than enough power to take your cat down in one move! Now Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning Attack!" Dark Magician Girl held up her wand with a smile, the dark energy flowing out of it and striking Espeon. Espeon recoiled in pain and fell to the ground, fainted.

Red looked on in surprise as his Espeon was knocked out in one hit, quickly reaching for his belt and returning his Pokémon. While he was surprised at the raw damage output of this new challenge, Red had prepared for this, and his two last Pokémon would have to carry him to victory. He moved his hand to one of his remaining Pokémon on his belt, closing his eyes and putting full faith in his next choice.

Red tossed the ball into the air and, in a flash of light, emerged an orange dragon, flying high on its majestic blue wings before landing with a triumphant crash onto the field. The tip of the monster's tail was ablaze, and its horned head lifted in a mighty roar, embers flicking from the sides of its mouth as well.

"It's Red's Charizard! But it looks like that isn't all!" the announcer called out as Red held aloft his arm, brandishing a bracelet with an inset gem. The gem glowed bright as his Charizard glowed with blinding energy. In the bright light, the crowd could see its silhouette transforming as the dragon's tail lengthened, the horns on its head lengthening and the wings growing outward. The light broke, sending glittering sparks across the battlefield, revealing a larger, almost more feral Pokémon on the field.

"Red's mega-evolved his Charizard into Mega-Charizard Y!" the announcer could barely hold in his excitement as the crowd erupted in cheer. Yugi's expression flashed from surprise to impress, but the turn passed wordlessly between the two.

Red held out his hand and clenched his fist. Charizard did not even need to look back at its trainer to know his order. Fire bubbled up from Charizard's belly, its light glowing from the back of the dragon's mouth. Charizard let loose this torrent of fire, scorching its way towards the Dark Magician Girl. The sorceress' eyes widened before she braced herself against the licking flames, dropping her defense all the way to 50.

But she endured the blast.

"I draw!" Yugi called out, peeling another card from the top of his deck. He slid the card into his hand, picking another card from his hand and laying it onto the field. "And I summon Mammoth Graveyard!"

From the light on the field emerged a skeleton of a mammoth, towering next to the barely conscious Dark Magician Girl. The bones creaked to life as it stomped onto the field, its jawbone lowering to let out a mighty roar.

"Now, Mammoth Graveyard and Dark Magician Girl, both attack that Mega-Charizard Y and send it to the grave before it can attack again!" Yugi declared as they mobilized. Mammoth Graveyard charged, leading with its fossilized tusks, and Dark Magician Girl summoned enough strength to raise her wand for one more dark burning attack. Both attacks slammed into Red's dragon like a truck, throwing Charizard into the back of the wall, almost shaking Red off of his podium. Charizard flickered his eyes open, but Red could tell that he had only barely held on with a single hitpoint.

Red rushed to the edge of his podium, looking down to see his Charizard crumpled against the wall, its flaming tail dwindling to an ember and smoke trailing out of its draconic snout. The master trainer quickly whipped his backpack around, fishing out a palm-sized clear vial with a squeezable spray top, a green liquid sloshing inside.

Red pointed this vial toward his Charizard on the ground, spraying the aerosolized medicine at his dragon. As the mist reached his Charizard, his eyes flicked open with ferocity as it stood with a new purpose and flapped its mighty wings, floating it into the air above the arena.

"What a tactical move by Red!" the announcer called out. "That full restore healed his Charizard back to full health, good as new!"

"I can tell your bond with your Charizard is strong," Yugi nodded solemnly, drawing another card and slammed it onto the field podium. "But you cannot stand up to the power of my favorite card, Dark Magician!"

The Mammoth Graveyard and Dark Magician Girl both sank into the field as tributes, and emerging from their place was another humanoid figure, tall, wielding an orbed staff, and enrobed in dark purple. His head was entirely enclosed by the hood of the robe, which extended as a large pointed hat.

"And with my Dark Magician on the field," Yugi continued, laying another card onto the field, "I play the Thousand Knives spell card! With this card in combination with my Dark Magician, I can target one card on your side of the field and destroy it!"

With that, dozens of spectral knives appeared floating behind the Dark Magician, their blades pointed at Red's dragon. The Dark Magician stoically waved his staff, sending the knives flying at high speed toward Charizard. Charizard's tail blazed to life as it bobbed and weaved through the first couple of knives instinctively, but it could not dodge them all. As the first knife found its target, Charizard was halted in flight, slowed enough for the rest of the knives struck the flying beast, fainting it on the spot.

Charizard began crashing to the ground, but was absorbed by Red's Pokeball before impacting, sucking it back into safety. Red looked devastatingly at Charizard's ball, knowing this only left him with one more Pokémon against Yugi's most powerful monster. But Red didn't come to fool around.

Red hooked Charizard's ball onto his belt and reached for his last Pokeball, a ball topped with purple instead of red, with two bulbous yellow protrusions and a white "M" emblazoned on its front, throwing it onto the field. The ball cracked open and from it emerged a man-sized beast with a long thick purple tail, standing on two backwards-bent legs. The rest of the body was a light grayish-purple, leading up to a feline-like head with ears that resembled short demon horns.

"That's impossible!" the announcer stammered. "Red has sent Mewtwo onto the field, the most powerful psychic type and the only of its kind in the world!" The crowd was shocked into silence, murmuring between themselves. Yugi, however, seemed unphased as the passion in his eyes burned.

Mewtwo looked back at Red, who nodded in its direction. Mewtwo's eyes glowed a light blue as its hands reached forward, materializing a psychic wave of energy before hurling it at the Dark Magician. The dark ball of psychic energy collided with the Dark Magician, sending the mage to his knee. Yugi watched closely at his Dark Magician's defense points as they dropped from 2100 to 500.

"That was impressive," Yugi called out, drawing a card from his deck and immediately slamming it onto the field. "I play a spell card in face down position, and my Dark Magician will attack your Mewtwo with Dark Magic Attack!"

The Dark Magician flipped his staff into the air, catching it as it fell and the orb on its tip glowed with a dark energy. The energy surrounded the field before the waves crashed in on Red's Mewtwo, causing it to roar out in pain.

The legendary Pokemon remained standing, however, its eyes squinting in determination, knowing it would only take one more attack to eliminate its opponent.

"This battle is getting down to the wire! With Yugi with his most powerful monster on the field and Red's last Pokémon, as well as Red's move next, it's anyone's duel!" the announcer called out, announcing Red's turn.

Red held out his hand once more for Mewtwo to strike. Mewtwo held his hand out again, gathering psychic energy to finish off his opponent.

"Not so fast!" Yugi interrupted, flipping over his facedown spell card. "I play Swords of Revealing Light! A magic card which prevents you from attacking for three turns, leaving your monsters open to a full-frontal assault!"

As he flipped the card over, seemingly hard-light construct swords formed around Red and his Mewtwo, breaking the psychic ball of energy Mewtwo was forming. Red relinquished his turn, not knowing anything else he could do against his opponent now.

Yugi drew one last card, knowing that he didn't even need it.

"Now, Dark Magician, finish this duel with another Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi called out, every word hurting Red like daggers. The Dark Magician held forth his magical staff, enveloping the field once more in a dark energy before striking Mewtwo from all sides. Mewtwo howled in pain before fainting on the field, crushed by the dark energy. Red's life points sank from his remaining 900 to 0 as a buzzer rang throughout the stadium.

"What a duel!" the announcer called out over the commotion, the crowd going berserk over the finale. "But we can only have one victor, and that victor is Yugi Muto!"

Red returned his Mewtwo to its Pokeball and hooked it onto his belt. He turned without a word and began to walk down the darkened hallway behind him. Yugi saw his opponent returning to the shadows and ran to catch him, crossing the field and stopping Red just as they both exited the view of the crowd.

"I must say, Champion Red, you dueled admirably, and it was an honor to see you at your best." Yugi said, reaching out his hand.

"…" Red kept his mouth sealed, but accepted the firm handshake before turning to return to the Pokémon Center. Yugi stood without words for the Pokemon Master, before turning to return to his side of the field to await his next competitor.

"… thank you…" Red's lips parted slightly as they curled into a grin. Red walked up the stairway to get lost in the crowd, knowing now the next big game that he had to master.

Winner: Yugi

Stay tuned for Galen Marek vs Kratos! Probably won't drop until the spring though.


End file.
